Cargo jet crashed at Bagram earlier this month - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Cargo jet crashed at Bagram earlier this month

A civilian cargo jet skidded off one of Bagram Airfield’s runways this month when the Airbus A300’s left-side landing gear collapsed.

No one was seriously injured in the March 1 crash landing, but it took a day for crews from the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing to get the aircraft clear of the runway.

“When we arrived at the aircraft, people were sliding down the emergency slide and the fire department was putting out a small fire around the engine. We were relieved because the situation could have been much worse,” Tech. Sgt. Alexander Figliola said in Air Force release.

With help from the Army, the crash and recovery team used a 120-ton crane to raise the aircraft’s left wing. A 40-foot flatbed trailer then substituted as the left side landing gear and a Heavy Expanded Mobile Tactical Truck, normally used to tow up armored vehicles, pulled the aircraft approximately 100 feet to a taxiway.

DHL International operated the jet and was delivering mail and other cargo to Afghanistan. Prior to landing, the crew told air traffic controllers there was a potential problem with the landing gear.

The crash landing is at least the fourth time a large airplane has run off Bagram’s runways after landing. Past accidents involved two C-17 Globemasters and a Navy P-3 Orion. Pilot mistakes were blamed for those three accidents.